In the past year the average member of the Undergraduate
Students Association Council slept four hours a night, spent more
time in Kerckhoff Hall than anywhere else, and began calling the
student support services manager “mom.”
The councilmembers graduating this spring, whose terms ended
last month, said it is hard to say goodbye to a university to which
they have devoted so much time.
Many said they will not forget their time in student government
after they leave UCLA and that their experiences will have an
impact on them for the rest of their lives.
Brian Neesby, former general representative, said his love for
student government often caused him to place more emphasis on USAC
than any other aspect of his university career.
“(USAC) is what has defined my UCLA experience,” he
said.
Neesby plans to attend Loyola Law School with the ultimate goal
of pursuing politics and is getting married in June 2007.
Many of the graduating councilmembers said they are eager to use
the skills they learned on council in their future careers or while
attending graduate schools.
Though she has not yet decided exactly what her focus will be,
Jeannie Biniek said her duties as external vice president, which
centered largely on advocacy for student issues on the state and
nationwide level, helped her decide to work in the nonprofit
sector.
“USAC has given me direction for the rest of my
life,” Biniek said. “I didn’t really know what
the word “˜advocacy’ meant when I came to UCLA and now
that’s what I want to do for the rest of my life.”
Former President Jenny Wood also said serving on the council for
the past two years prepared her for her future career. Wood will
spend next year working for a state senator in Sacramento or for a
nonprofit organization in Los Angeles, where she will participate
in various campaigns dealing with labor issues and other local
policy issues.
“I’ve definitely grown a lot and challenged myself
in my UCLA career. The exposure to new and different issues, the
mentors I’ve had and the challenges that were placed on me
will always stand out to me,” Wood said.
Jason Kaminsky said his duties as Campus Events commissioner
have inspired him to enter the entertainment business. He said
heading Campus Events was like running a business and was the
deciding factor in his decision to attend the Stanford Graduate
School of Business next year.
“Learning things like people management and dealing with
things when they go wrong gave me a lot of insight into the
business world, and for me, that is very valuable,” Kaminsky
said.
Kristina Doan, former internal vice president, will attend law
school next year and said her term as a councilmember prepared her
for work in the legal world.
“(USAC) was one of the best learning experiences
I’ve had. Everything I’ve learned in political science
classes, like developing policy and forming coalitions, I’ve
done in USAC,” Doan said.
The former councilmembers agreed their most important UCLA
memories are of USAC as they spent countless hours working on
programs to benefit students, both on and off the council
table.
Neesby said the personal growth he experienced as a
councilmember will stay with him forever. He said he learned to
stand up for what he believed in when he had to make ethical
decisions that others did not support.”I’ve grown to be
a better leader and better person,” he said.
Others said their leadership roles helped them give back to the
students of UCLA.
Kaminsky said his greatest success as a councilmember was when
students had fun at events he helped plan.
“If it’s possible to have an event that takes a
student’s mind off school so they can enjoy their life in Los
Angeles, we’ve done our job,” he said.